First Horizon Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:FHN)

First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 6,071 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 213% compared to the typical volume of 1,937 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Harry V. Barton, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.92, for a total value of $199,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 166,840 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,323,452.80. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David T. Popwell sold 100,974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.77, for a total value of $1,996,255.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 519,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,278,937.02. The trade was a 16.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Horizon

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in First Horizon by 18.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,236,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,116,486 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Horizon by 28.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,515,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $244,647,000 after buying an additional 3,470,346 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Horizon by 46.5% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 14,370,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $226,626,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558,129 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 5.2% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 14,025,838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,187,000 after acquiring an additional 692,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP increased its position in First Horizon by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 10,200,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,854,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570,000 shares during the period. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Horizon Price Performance

First Horizon stock opened at $20.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $19.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.00. The firm has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.95. First Horizon has a one year low of $12.95 and a one year high of $21.72.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $821.63 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 15.43% and a return on equity of 9.51%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Horizon will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. First Horizon’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.48%.

First Horizon declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, October 29th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 10.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FHN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens raised their price target on First Horizon from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Horizon from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Horizon has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

First Horizon Company Profile

First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments.